I have come around to appreciating why Sacramento-native Greta Gerwig considers Lady Bird a "love letter" to her city. It's the best thing I can say for it. The movie is bookended very satisfactorily with an opening scene that sets just the right tone and the protagonist's change of heart regarding her hometown of Sacramento. The in-between parts are where I found the protagonist disappointingly uninteresting and the messaging ham-handed as it related to her. It has been heralded as a highly intelligent coming-of-age story, but I can't help but disagree.
Saoirse Ronan plays Christine "Lady Bird" McPherson by making believe that she isn't absolutely gorgeous. She also insists on going to an East Coast liberal arts school despite apparently being divested of such aptitudes. Although she understandably yearns to escape her Central Valley life and does undergo a character arc that I cannot in good conscience mock, her eyebrow-raising indulgences breathe a little life into a story mired by her uninspiring, self-centered mentality. Had she been more principled and dignified, vowing to reimburse her parents the cost of raising her could have been more than erratic foolishness, however ill-advised it would still have been. The same goes for her bail out from the car (my favorite scene, nonetheless). Christine's eccentricities and the mother-daughter relationship strain credulity a little, but not too much. She is for me a character to be endured, not enjoyed, and ditto for her mother, and while I am at it, her adopted brother.
Christine's friendship with the comparatively charming Julie has a ring of contrivance given the former's character flaws. The conceited Jenna is authentically disagreeable. Christine's even-keeled father is a refreshing opposite to her melodramatic, despairing mother. The first boyfriend (played by Lucas Hedges of the brilliant Manchester by the Sea) is indeed tolerable compared to boyfriend number two, a moron with a lot of screen time. The third guy only had to be an upfront atheist for our rebellious Catholic Schoolgirl (if he had to be anything). She tells him, "People go by the names their parents give them, but they don't believe in God." A banal remark, if you ask me. And she makes my point for me by later dropping "Lady Bird" for her parents' answering machine.
It surely can be argued that a movie shouldn't be too aware of when it takes place, but the predictable indications--Iraq War coverage (watched by teenagers, no less) and talk of cell phones being ubiquitous in the near future--are easily forgiven and on some level wanted. I liked the crying game and the football coach turned theater director scene. The parent-child open house outing is something I can relate to from my own childhood.
Writing this review elevated my opinion of Greta Gerwig's Lady Bird somewhat. That is to say, my mind is less boggled by the critical acclaim. It ultimately deals with interesting aspects of life, just not as I would like it to, and the lovable deviant vibe simply hasn't come over me.
Saoirse Ronan plays Christine "Lady Bird" McPherson by making believe that she isn't absolutely gorgeous. She also insists on going to an East Coast liberal arts school despite apparently being divested of such aptitudes. Although she understandably yearns to escape her Central Valley life and does undergo a character arc that I cannot in good conscience mock, her eyebrow-raising indulgences breathe a little life into a story mired by her uninspiring, self-centered mentality. Had she been more principled and dignified, vowing to reimburse her parents the cost of raising her could have been more than erratic foolishness, however ill-advised it would still have been. The same goes for her bail out from the car (my favorite scene, nonetheless). Christine's eccentricities and the mother-daughter relationship strain credulity a little, but not too much. She is for me a character to be endured, not enjoyed, and ditto for her mother, and while I am at it, her adopted brother.
Christine's friendship with the comparatively charming Julie has a ring of contrivance given the former's character flaws. The conceited Jenna is authentically disagreeable. Christine's even-keeled father is a refreshing opposite to her melodramatic, despairing mother. The first boyfriend (played by Lucas Hedges of the brilliant Manchester by the Sea) is indeed tolerable compared to boyfriend number two, a moron with a lot of screen time. The third guy only had to be an upfront atheist for our rebellious Catholic Schoolgirl (if he had to be anything). She tells him, "People go by the names their parents give them, but they don't believe in God." A banal remark, if you ask me. And she makes my point for me by later dropping "Lady Bird" for her parents' answering machine.
It surely can be argued that a movie shouldn't be too aware of when it takes place, but the predictable indications--Iraq War coverage (watched by teenagers, no less) and talk of cell phones being ubiquitous in the near future--are easily forgiven and on some level wanted. I liked the crying game and the football coach turned theater director scene. The parent-child open house outing is something I can relate to from my own childhood.
Writing this review elevated my opinion of Greta Gerwig's Lady Bird somewhat. That is to say, my mind is less boggled by the critical acclaim. It ultimately deals with interesting aspects of life, just not as I would like it to, and the lovable deviant vibe simply hasn't come over me.